Hudson water woes threaten a dam, road and lake

HUDSON — The town of Hudson, just west of Montreal, is facing a double whammy caused by heavy rains and a destructively long winter, which has residents angered about the future of one of the town’s iconic landscape elements, Pine Lake.

Hudson officials said that they believe that an unusually brutal winter has caused ice to damage parts of the dam along Cameron Street that holds up the lake. The dam failed as the ice melted, and the lake dried out.

Recent heavy rains have also run through the dam, causing damage to the land underneath, which includes the road.

Now city officials are asking the province to make an emergency decree in an effort to repair the road and the dam.

“Our focus right now is the roadway, it’s not the dam,” said Ed Prevost. “We have to guarantee the security of this road, because it’s one of the major arteries into Hudson and out of Hudson.”

Prevost described the lake as “iconic”: it’s used as to promote the town and is showcased front and centre on the town’s website. But since the winter thaw, it has been stemmed to a trickle, bringing with it a host of concerns.

“The dam broke and then all the animals who used to live here, they started to die,” said Olivia Gavanski, a resident. “It’s just really sad.”

Pam Campbell moved to Cameron Street to be close to the lake. She echoes sentiments from her neighbours that something must be done.

“It’s a terrible eyesore,” she said. “Families around here need to enjoy it.”

Pine Lake was created in the late 1940s, when residents decided to dam the creek that feeds it, giving all of them waterfront property. In an effort to transfer control of the dam to the city, they sold it to Hudson for the nominal fee of $1.03 in 1984. Now residents are hoping the city does something soon.

“It seems like they’re taking a long time to get this resolved,” said Jeremy Snow, who grew up near Pine Lake. “I know the residents are really frustrated with it.”